Covid19

Q&A

A curated list of Q&A on Covid19,

answered by volunteering doctors

at covid19india.org

COVID19INDIA.ORG

Queries on

Vaccination

You can take the second dose.

No need to start a repeat course

of vaccination if you are a few

days late.

I have to take the 2nd

vaccine shot after 6-8

weeks. In case 2 or 3

days are over 8 weeks,

can I take the 2nd shot

or do I have to repeat

the course again?

COVID19INDIA.ORG

The first dose may give a small

degree of immunity, but as per

the trials, for most vaccines, you

will need to take both doses to

get the maximum protection

from the shot.

Does the first dose of

vaccine increase any

sort of immunity? Or

we need both the

doses to get things

work.

COVID19INDIA.ORG

Diabetics are under increased

risk from Covid19. There is no

risk on getting vaccinated.

Rather, they should aim to get

vaccinated at the earliest.

My father is under

treatment for diabetes.

Can he take the

vaccine or not?

COVID19INDIA.ORG

Vaccination does not mean that

there is a guaranteed protection

against infection. It helps in

preventing death and adverse

effects of the infection. But there

are always remote chances of

anything happening even after

getting the vaccine. So please

take all precautions and use

masks, follow social distancing

etc even if you are vaccinated.

Can a person with 1st

dose of vaccine get

infected?

COVID19INDIA.ORG

Yes, both doses of the vaccine

have to be taken. Take the

second dose 14 days after

recovering from the current

infection.

If someone tests

positive after first

dose, do they have to

take the second dose?

COVID19INDIA.ORG

This is still a matter of

consideration. As per the latest

CDC guidelines overseas, they

are advising pregnant women to

get vaccinated. But such an

advisory has not been issued in

India. Keeping this in mind, we

would advise for a wait and

watch policy as of now.

My wife is pregnant.

Can she take the

vaccine?

COVID19INDIA.ORG

She can take the vaccine, some

of the drugs used in arthritis

might decrease the vaccine

efficiency but it’s still much

better to get vaccine.

My mother is on

arthritis medication

right now can she take

the vaccine?

COVID19INDIA.ORG

Yes, it is safe to take the vaccine.

My father is asthmatic

from past 30 years. Is it

safe to get the

vaccine?

COVID19INDIA.ORG

Yes, it is safe to take the vaccine.

My father is 50 years

old, is a smoker and

has hypertension, is it

safe for him to take the

vaccine?

COVID19INDIA.ORG

As per MoHFW guidelines, one

can take the vaccine 14 days

after recovering from covid

infection.

If a person of age

above 18 years is

COVID positive, how

long should he/she

wait for getting

vaccinated?

COVID19INDIA.ORG

Women on periods can get

vaccine. Nothing to worry about

that. It is completely safe.

Can women on their

periods take the

vaccine?

COVID19INDIA.ORG

No. Vaccines act by inducing

immune response and producing

antibodies against the virus. It

cannot make a contracted

infection more severe. Make note

of this, Vaccine only saves lives.

Any hesitation against vaccine

can prove costly.

Can vaccines cause

infection? Can they

worsen a person’s

condition if they were

infected in the past?

COVID19INDIA.ORG

One need not wait for control of

sugar to take vaccine. Take the

vaccine while simultaneously

focusing on controlling diabetes.

Those with diabetes are in high

risk group with respect to

Covid19 and they should get

vaccinated on priority basis.

Is it alright for a person

with high sugar levels

to take the vaccine?

My relative is afraid to

take vaccination out of

fear that she may face

reaction or

complications.

COVID19INDIA.ORG

Queries on

Symptoms and

Treatment

PITCH DECK V 1.0

COVID19INDIA.ORG

I tested positive on 4th

Nov and negative on

14th Nov.

Can I donate plasma

now?

I would recommend against it as

it has been more than 3 months

now, so the level of antibodies in

your plasma will not be enough

to make a difference. As a

general rule, you can donate

convalescent plasma 14 to 90

days after recovering from the

virus. It is best to donate plasma

as soon as you are eligible, as

the level of antibodies slowly

goes down over time.

PITCH DECK V 1.0

COVID19INDIA.ORG

From last night, I felt

that my smelling sense

is going. No other

problem. Could it be

covid symptoms. If yes

so what shoud I do?

Sudden loss of sense of smell is

not a common thing. The only

common cause right now is

covid-19. Isolate yourself,

monitor your pulse and oxygen

saturation and get RT-PCR and

rapid test done.

PITCH DECK V 1.0

COVID19INDIA.ORG

My brother's oxygen

level is 89 to 90% and

no hospital is ready to

take him in, what

should I do?

Please make him lie in prone

position, and keep monitoring

oxygen saturation. Try to consult

a doctor in person and arrange a

bed, or at least oxygen at home

as per the advice of your local

physician.

PITCH DECK V 1.0

COVID19INDIA.ORG

I got infected 2 weeks

back. Experienced loss

of smell, loss of taste,

fever and loss of

appetite. Now I

regained all, but mild

cough is there. What

should I do?

The cough will resolve over time.

You can do steam inhalation and

gargles with turmeric & salty

water thrice a day for now, as

you are already on the road to

recovery. You will need to stay in

isolation for 14 days and then

gradually go to back to your

routine, some dry cough and

fatigue might might continue for

a few days.

PITCH DECK V 1.0

COVID19INDIA.ORG

If one has been

diagnosed positive in

RT PCR, is it

mandatory to have a

CT Scan?

You don’t need to get HRCT just

because you are positive. The

decision to get a CT scan should

be taken if the patient is high

risk or if they are not maintaining

oxygen saturation. In some

cases, HRCT is also used to rule

out false negatives, but that is a

clinical judgement that should be

made by a doctor after

examining the specific patient.

PITCH DECK V 1.0

COVID19INDIA.ORG

I am having fever from

the last 4 days, no

other symptoms

except body ache.

SpO2, pulse rate are

normal. Should I go for

test or not?

Yes, please get an RTPCR test.

Please isolate yourself at home

till the test results come. Consult

a doctor if symptoms increase

over the course of time.

PITCH DECK V 1.0

COVID19INDIA.ORG

I am having cough,

fever since last 3 days.

RT-PCR facility is not

available in my town,

but HRCT is available.

After how many days

from first symptom,

should I get HRCT

done for myself?

CT scan is not mandatory if RT

PCR is not available. Given the

current pandemic, these

symptoms should be treated as

presumptive COVID unless

proven otherwise. At least try

getting the basic lab

investigations like CBC with ESR,

CRP, D dimer, serum creatinine,

serum bilirubin and SGOT done.

Also most importantly, please

isolate yourself.

Queries on

Recovery and

Others

Consider the patient to be

recovered around 14 days after

the diagnosis is made and with

no symptoms for 3 consecutive

days.

When can we consider

someone to have

recovered from Covid?

COVID19INDIA.ORG

Yes, it is normal. You should get

your sense of smell and taste

back slowly over a period of

time.

I have tested negative

for Covid now, but I

have still not recovered

my sense of taste and

smell. Is it normal?

COVID19INDIA.ORG

As per protocol, there is no need

to repeat RT-PCR after 14 days

of home isolation.

Is an RT-PCR test

required after 14 days

of home isolation and

recovery?

COVID19INDIA.ORG

Depends on severity, some

symptoms may go on for weeks.

A few patients report having

symptoms months after the

infection, which is known as

Long Covid syndrome. Such a

patient may not be infective but

may have persistent, low grade

symptoms. Check oxygen

saturation and if it’s normal than

no need to worry. The body

takes some time to recover from

infection.

How long does it take

to fully recover from

covid? It has been over

2 weeks for me, yet feel

tired and weak.

COVID19INDIA.ORG

There are a few reports of

reinfection, but there is no indication

if reinfection will be mild or severe.

And with the existence of multiple

variants and the constant evolution

of the virus, there is no way to

predict for sure. There is an old

credo: Prevention is the best cure. It

is best is to take all precautions to

ensure that you are not infected

again, use masks properly always,

distancing and santitisers.

I got Covid19 earlier. If

I get the infection

again, will it be more

severe?

COVID19INDIA.ORG

Wear a mask (preferebly an N95

mask) properly at all times while in

the public areas. Avoid touching

common surfaces unnecessarily and

wash hands with soap or sanitise

them with alcohol based sanitizer

after coming into contact with such

surfaces.

What precautions do

you need to take if

someone in your

building has come

positive and you have

a common pathway of

going in and out of the

building?

COVID19INDIA.ORG

Adequate food and water intake is

necessary for the body to be able to

fight any infection. If the patient is

not tolerating solid food, they can

be given semi-solid food like dal-

rice, mashed vegetables, etc. Take

care to see that the patient has

adequate water intake. You can

give them some lemonade with salt

and sugar in it as well.

A Covid positive

person is not eating

properly. What can be

done?

COVID19INDIA.ORG

Yes you can breastfeed but need to

follow all the precautions carefully -

washing hands and wearing mask

etc. As it does not spread through

milk but by contact. Wash hands

properly before feeding. Try to

minimize contact time. You can also

try expressed/extracted milk if

feeding is absolutely necessary.

I have a 1.5 year old

kid. My wife is isolated

due to symptoms. Is it

safe to breastfeed the

kid in this scenario?

COVID19INDIA.ORG

I would recommend against it as it

has been more than 3 months now,

so the level of antibodies in your

plasma will not be enough to make

a difference. As a general rule, you

can donate convalescent plasma 14

to 90 days after recovering from the

virus. It is best to donate plasma as

soon as you are eligible, as the level

of antibodies slowly goes down

over time.

I tested positive on 4th

November, 2020 and

negative on 14th

November.

Can I donate plasma

now?

COVID19INDIA.ORG

Confine them to a dedicated room and

bathroom, they should not come out

and interact with others at home, give

food and water to the person in room

without coming into direct contact, like

by keeping it near the door, give them

a pulse oximeter to monitor, if person

is elderly and can’t take care of

themselves, or have difficulty doing so,

a dedicated caregiver with N95 mask,

distancing as much as possible, and

frequently sanitizing hands may look

after them.

How can we isolate

someone at home?

COVID19INDIA.ORG

Stay aware. Stay safe.

Responses provided by doctors volunteering for

COVID19INDIA.ORG

www.covid19india.org

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